No Man's Sky Outlaws Update Adds Criminal Underworld And Overhauled Space Combat

No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games has announced the next update for the game, called Outlaws. Launching on April 14, Outlaws will focus on the game's underworld and also includes a number of significant upgrades throughout No Man's Sky.

For the new underworld exploration, you'll be able to visit outlaw space stations and star systems that have been overtaken by criminal elements, which creates an opportunity for you to earn some extra credits. A new series of pirate missions will open up black-market technology that you can purchase, valuable goods that are illegal elsewhere in the galaxy can be acquired, and you can even grab a forged passport that will allow you to slip past the Sentinels with your smuggled cargo.

All players--not just the smugglers--will benefit from the addition of specialist cargo inventories to all starships. These are high-capacity slots that can store large quantities of cargo, and storage-hungry players can unlock extra slots from the ship upgrade terminal found on all space stations. You'll be able to recruit and upgrade their own wingmen now as well, allowing you to collect your ideal set of ships and pilots. Each pilot comes with their own abilities and can be upgraded over time to improve their combat skills.

As for spacecraft, a new ship that features a solar-powered sail and sleek bodywork will debut in this update. The Solar Ship is No Man’s Sky’s first new starship since the start of 2020, and the maximum number of ships a player can own has been raised from six to nine.

Space combat has also been overhauled significantly and will now have a decidedly faster feel to its design. Handling has been improved, weapons have new visual effects and enemy starships now have shields. Weapon selection will have a variety of specialist secondary effects to create more depth, such as slowing enemy engines or disabling shield systems. You won't be safe in a planet's atmosphere either, as ship-to-ship combat can now occur there too.

You'll also need to keep an eye on your settlements, as they may be vulnerable to pirate raids. If the combat does feel too difficult, No Man's Sky will also feature a new Auto-Follow mode to make things easier.

No Man's Sky recently took home a Bafta Game Award for its ever-evolving space sandbox, and the game is still on track to be released on the Nintendo Switch. The team said in a previous update that it will be revealing more leading up to launch, as it's optimizing everything from the UI to controls to feel at home on the Switch.